Issue #37: Hot Topic Store Managers Meeting 2006
Trying something new
Hey Soul Sister,
Can we have a little heart 2 heart?
I am in a spiritual crisis. Newsletter-ly speaking.
You see, I started this newsletter on a whim. I was 26-years-old (Can you imagine? Does that even exist anymore? Being 26?), and I was in a transitional place in my career. I had too much time, not enough money, and I had that weird identity hangover you get when you, all of a sudden, stop doing corporate cosplay at the office everyday. Plus, I was consuming a concerning amount of media (remember, too much time), so I thought, heck, get your butt a newsletter and tell these girls what you love to watch!
That was 2019. It is now 2025.
As you know, the vibes since 2019 have not so much shifted as they have been in a relentless and stomach-turning free fall with not even a glimpse of an end in sight. But it’s not just the macro-vibes that have changed. The micro-vibes have shifted, too. My vibes.
I have to face facts: I’m not a girly pop anymore. No. I am a woman EXPLOSION. And I’m proud of it, dammit!
I go to physical therapy. I talk about freezing my eggs over the martinis I’m exposure therapy-ing myself into liking (so far, so bad). I’m getting… ma’am-ed. Me. A cool young person. Like….???
What does all of this have to do with HIGHBROW/LOWBROW?
I think that’s what I’m trying to figure out. I want to resist the urge of replicating what has worked in the past to leave room for something more truthful. That could look like a different tone, different recommendations, different formats. The process around here has always been very “figure it out as it's happening” and I see no reason to change that now. And for right now, that looks like “me publicly giving myself permission to shift towards a new direction that probably would have felt natural if I had just done it quietly and demurely instead of just dumping my brain out into the middle of the town square, yet again.” But, I mean, some things have to stay the same, right?
I’m excited to see where we go next. And I hope you’ll stick around for this 2.0 era, whatever it may look like.
And today, that looks like me sharing just one video. One video with SO much to offer us.
You guys already know my YouTube algorithm is fucked up. It’s mostly just thumbnails of infected animal hooves and actress roundtables at this point. YouTube knows that I’ll keep lapping up their content slop as long as they keep smashing it down my gullet. Which is why I was so confused when one particular, wayward video kept popping up in my suggestions, titled:
Hot Topic Store Managers Meeting 2006
There’s a lot that’s working for me here right off the bat. Love Hot Topic. Love 2006. Love Store. Managers and Meeting? Depends on the context. But that’s, like, a 66% love rate. Pretty solid.
I never felt moved to actually click and watch, though. There was always some “What I Eat In A Day As A Gluten-Free Nail Tech With 7 Clients And I Also Live In A Van - REALISTIC” video to keep me occupied. But really, I think I was waiting to accumulate enough mental and emotional space to really savor it. Some cosmically-connected part of me must have known that this video was not to be taken lightly.
The day to click and watch finally arrived one quiet afternoon in late January. I was randomly overwhelmed with fear and despair (apropos of nothing in particular happening around that time, I’m sure) and I thought, what a perfect time to turn to my favorite coping mechanism: 2000s nostalgia. Vulnerable, raw, and desperate for hope, I clicked the thumbnail of the woman with black box dyed pigtails, pencil-thin eyebrows, hoop earring looped through her ear gauges and a red and black tartan lanyard. Gazing upon such a beautiful face, I wondered if this is what early 20th-century migrants felt when they first set eyes upon the Statue of Liberty.
The vibes in this video are immediately perfect. It’s like Goth Summer Camp. Hordes of tiny bangs, nails colored in with sharpie, face piercings, tattoos, and sexy little Janeane Garofalo glasses crammed into the most standard-looking hotel ballroom you’ve ever seen. And, of course, those gorgeous tartan lanyards.
The video documents, essentially, a punk rock trade show. It’s cheesy corporate retail culture with an edgy sensibility. There’s a product presentation (it’s skull-printed skinny scarf season btw). There are appearances from Cobra Starship and Gym Class Heroes (!!!). But my favorite part of the video is the awards ceremony. This is where the Hot Topic Store Managers really get to shine. Their commitment, leadership and creativity is acknowledged in front of their peers. Tears are shed. Hugs are exchanged. Hard work is rewarded. It is, simply, Hot Topic Excellence.
The video ends with words of gratitude from the event attendees. People express how excited they are to be working for Hot Topic, and I kind of understand why. I see so much personal expression in this video. So much hope. There’s a sense of community built around a common reverence for alt youth culture. There’s a belief that dedication to work will actually yield something meaningful in return. E-commerce? A novelty. The mall? Now that’s forever.
Of course, nearly 20 years later, we find ourselves in a very different head space, teetering on the edge of a techno-feudalist reality. But, in exchange for your data privacy and financial autonomy, you can visit a very special moment in time, frozen in digital amber just for you. A time of studded belts, fingerless gloves, and optimism. A time called Hot Topic Store Managers Meeting 2006 🖤☠️🤘🏾
Thanks for reading and subscribing. Never not in love with you for doing that.
I hope you enjoyed this semi-departure from the standard fare. Tell a friend if you enjoyed this. Heck, tell me if you enjoyed this. I am Tinkerbell-style fueled by validation if that wasn’t already obvious.
Until next time, soul sisters*.
And LONG LIVE THE MALL!
xoxo,
Simone
*had to hit it one more time for the Dismukes heads out there
Change is good! Look forward to whatever comes next.